1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to apparatus for changing oscillatory rotary motion to stepwise unidirectional rotary motion.
2. The Prior Art
A double action agitator generally includes a first portion which oscillates in to-and-fro motions and a second or upper auger portion which rotates in unidirectional, stepwise motions. The oscillating first agitator portion includes a lower skirt portion and an upper barrel portion, the skirt portion carrying scrubbing vanes. The auger, carrying helical vanes, creates a downflow adjacent the agitator barrel in the wash receptacle and thereby causes positive rollover of the clothes being washed. Several co-pending patents assigned to assignee of the present invention, namely, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,987,508; 3,987,651; and 3,987,652, disclose the use of ratchet-type, spring-biased toothed clutches upon the oscilating drive shaft or a central portion of the oscillating agitator, whereby oscillatory motions drive the auger forward in one direction and allow slipping of the auger in the reverse direction. U.S. Pat. No. 1,694,810 depicts a clutch construction which now is in the public domain and as to which the present invention is an improvement. Noise produced by the ratcheting of the clutch members is often objectionably loud in such prior art devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,257 shows the use of a rubber isolator pad 112 in a non-ratcheting clutch arrangement to dampen the transmission of sound from the clutch to the spin shaft in an automatic washer. U.S. Pat. No. 2,675,898 discloses a unidirectional, non-ratcheting drive coupling having an annular, resilient bumper ring 39.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,694,810 to Dunham discloses a clutch arrangement for a laundry machine wherein a pair of clutch members including ratchet teeth are utilized in the superstructure of the machine's transmission to cause rotation of a receptacle during a centrifuging operation and to insure a stationary positioning of the receptacle during other operations, the rotation or stationary positioning of the receptacle determined by the rotational direction of a drive shaft fixed to one of the clutch members. The clutch members according to the Dunham disclosure do not override their ratchet teeth and are not interconnected in a driving relationship with the agitator of the appliance.